Naruto turned tail and ran into the deep, black forest that bordered his beloved Konohagakure, silently taking his leave of home. As he disappeared into the silence of the black depths, someone stepped peeked their head out from behind a tree's shadow.

Sakura had Tsunade's training to thank for remaining undetected. She had been taught to suppress her chakra, even her heartbeat so that even the most skilled ninja wouldn't hear it beath or her lungs inhale. She watched as he kept running and vanished.

She looked back at the town, where only a few lights burned. She turned to face the dark woods again. She was mulling something over in her brain. She would never hear the end of it for leaving town, but she had to. It wasn't up for debate with anyone. It wasn't anything anyone could even explain, including herself.

She supposed it was her undying love for Naruto that made her want to go with him. That she loved him so much she would go anywhere with him, but to try and explain it in so few words seemed insulting to the boy she cared for most. It was a very complicated sense of emotion and feeling that ran through her for Naruto-kun.

She remembered their first days together at the Academy. He was, of course, constantly shunned. She vaguely recalled Naruto trying to please her one day, shortly after their first classes had begun.

"Happy Valentines Day Sakura-chan," said Naruto shyly, handing a scrappily cut red heart card to the pink-headed girl who was talking with the blonde one named Ino. She turned in a rapid snap to face him.

"Who are you?" she asked snobbily with a scowl. She recalled thinking of how unimportant he was on account of not being Sasuke.

"Gomen, Sakura, I am just Narut-

"Look at how dirty he is," Ino whispered, loudly. Sakura and Ino laughed maliciously as tears came to Naruto's eyes. He pushed the card forcefully into her hands and ran way.

She never even read that card. "No, I don't want to remember all the times I hurt him," she thought, shaking her head as if she could physically push the memories away. Her thoughts immediately drifted to the last night she slept in Naruto's apartment, twenty-four hours ago approximately.

Even the black of the night couldn't hide her blush. She couldn't believe what she had done last night. It felt good, but she felt guilty as well. If she told anyone, she'd be killed. He parents would kill her. Then Tsunade would kill her, even though Sakura was sure a woman such as her wouldn't have waited 'til marriage to engage in… ahem.

Sakura pushed the thoughts away again. "I can't leave Naruto alone. He wouldn't leave me alone if I were in his shoes. I know what Naruto would do. He'd help the people he loves. He helped me so much. It's decided."

"I'll follow him."

Sakura ran into the forest. Naruto had a few minutes head start and was far enough away that Sakura should be able to track him without being detected at the same time. She'd have to utilize a lot of stealth to follow someone as strong as Naruto, but she was confident she could manage.

Almost fifteen minutes later, Naruto skid to a halt and looked around. This was the meeting place. He was in the small clearing that Gaara had designated with the coordinates he gave him… So where was Gaara.

"I'm over here," said Gaara, dropping from a tree. Naruto smiled.

"Great," said Naruto. "I didn't see you, so I was a bit worried for a second."

"Has the night made you lazy and weak so that you can't detect even me?" asked Gaara, his eyes remaining focused the same way they always were.

"Oh come on," said Naruto, rubbing the back of his head. "You know you're stronger than me. How am I supposed to compete with you, eh?"

"Don't be stupid," said Gaara harshly and coldly. Naruto didn't flinch. "Don't be coy with me like that… You know that you are by far stronger than I am, whether we use our demon forms or not."

"I wouldn't say that I'm that stronger than you Gaara," said Naruto. "Hell, you're the leader of your nation."

"That makes no difference… Let's just go."

"Alright," said Naruto, shrugging his shoulders. "How far is it to get there?"

"First let me ask you this," said Gaara. "What do you want to accomplish. I need to know what you want to do, what your intentions are. Orochimaru and Akatsuki, Itachi specifically, are both dangerous to the worlds we live in… Which one of them do you want to take down?"

"You mean both isn't an option?" asked Naruto.

"I was thinking that, seeing as how we get only one fight, both isn't an option," said Gaara with a smile, uncharacteristic for him. "Orochimaru is closer to our current location, about a day and a half from here if we run using chakra. His lair is lightly guarded by various nins from sound and a few from wind too, along with even a couple sand nins."

"And Akatsuki?"

"Akatsuki's strongest remaining member is Itachi," said Gaara. "I'd say that, of all our enemies, he is the big kahuna, the king of the rock if you will. Akatsuki has lost a lot of its strength. They had many members in their ranks, high-class assassins and warriors, but they've been cut to just a few decent nins and Itachi himself."

"How far is he?"

"He is two whole days' travel from here, hidden in territory that isn't owned by any of the countries. It's vacant, and therefore not watched by anyone, a perfect hideout for him and his crew. They live in a giant cavern, strangely enough, which is well guarded and sealed."

"I want them both gone," said Naruto with his teeth clenched. "They both deserve to be killed, and I want them both to get what they deserve."

"How do you expect to just simply fight them both?" asked Gaara with an annoyed expression. "We get one shot, one fight. We die after that. Have you forgotten?"

"Of course I haven't," said Naruto. "I just… want more than one of them out of the picture. Taking one out of the picture gives free rain to the other, and I fear the consequences could be worse for this world than if we just didn't fight at all."

"How so?"

"If we take out one, the other will not have any opposition to taking power," said Naruto. "That's what they want. They want power, and to tell the truth, I think they're the only things keeping each other from getting it. They regard each other as big time enemies, and they are competing for elbow room, distracting each other in a sense. If one is out of the picture, then the other one won't have anything to stop them from destroying Sand, or Leaf, or any other place they want."

"I see your point," said Gaara, crossing his arms. "I agree, it does put us in a bad situation, but what can we do?"

Naruto sat down and crossed his legs. "What if we could lure them out to the same battle ground, like, get them both in one spot."

"Oh yeah, sure," said Gaara. "We'll lure them out."

"I admit it's dodgy, but think about it now," said Naruto. "If they are both together, and we are there too, we'll be at even a bigger advantage. They will help fight each other, right? I mean, Orochimaru wants my body, and Akatsuki wants me as well. They're not going to let the other take me. They're going to fight each other while we fight as well. It's perfect."

"You do have another valid point," said Gaara. "But it would be hard to just lure them out of hiding, and there's a chance that they may just completely ignore each other long enough to kill us, or possibly just kill us before we get to the luring spot."

"It's difficult, but you know, if they kill me," it wouldn't be a huge loss," said Naruto. "If they want me so badly, they won't kill me, and if I die, their plans or whatever they are thinking will be put to ruin."

"This is too mush to think about right now," said Gaara frustratedly. "There are too many options. We should camp here for the night, since it would be senseless to continue on in the darkness anyway, and we'll think it over."

"Scared of the dark, Gaara?" asked Naruto mockingly. Gaara just glared at him. "Relax," relied the blonde as he stood and dusted himself off. "I was only joking. I guess we can get to setting up camp then."

End Chapter

Well, I've successfully confused MYSELF! I don't know which option they should take, so I want some requests, GOOD ones. Give me a review, as many as possible, with your ideas. I want to know how you guys think they should go about getting Orochimaru and Itachi together, or how the fight should start out.

If you come up with any other creative ideas, such as the two some how teaming up temporarily on a truce to take down the two boys, please be my guest and give I to me. I want any ideas you can think of, so lay it on me. You are going to have a long time to think too, as I will be out of town camping for two straight weeks without a computer. I'm sorry it will be so long, but it's a necessity. I actually might be able to get on and check a camp computer, but not long enough to post, just long enough to review your ideas and mull them over in my head as camp goes by. Fear not, I will be thinking of all kinds of ways to help this story while I'm out in the nature.